This first book in the Martin Beck series may have suffered from being read out of order. It was interesting to read the descriptions of Melander and Kollberg in particular, as these colleagues of Beck's recur in most of the books. The mystery itself is in some ways straightforward -- this is much more of a police procedural and less of a 'whodunit'. This is not a mystery in which the reader can solve the case first - information comes to the reader as it comes to the detectives & they find the killer together. While not as tense as some of the later books in the series, I think that this one gives a good feeling for police routine. ( )

First published in 1965, Roseanna is the first in the Martin Beck series by the Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. This is a solid, detailed police procedural which introduces many of the series characters. The book is not without humour at times although overall Beck is a rather dour character. The plot is rather thin and we learn the identity of the likely perpetrator long before the end, so the interest is in watching the Swedish police at work – they never give up. The perpetrator is an interesting character study, being unconventional for his time and place. The plot has international connections and as it was published in 1965, the communications are slow and tedious compared to the contemporary era. Even making an international phone call was a significant task! The main sub-plot concerns Beck’s relationship with his wife and family and one can see already how they are slipping away from him under the realities of police work. How many books will it take before Beck is living alone? His only significant relationships are with fellow officers and as for many other later detectives in fiction, his work is his life. The Harper Perennial edition has an absorbing introduction by Henning Mankell who is a disciple of Sjöwall and Wahlöö. Richard Shepherd’s article and interview with Sjöwall are also wroth reading as they throw light on the origins and development of the Beck series. ( )

Wikipedia in English

The masterful first novel in the Martin Beck series of mysteries by the internationally renowned crime writing duo Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, finds Beck hunting for the murderer of a lonely traveler.On a July afternoon, a young woman's body is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vattern. With no clues Beck begins an investigation not only to uncover a murderer but also to discover who the victim was. Three months later, all Beck knows is that her name was Roseanna and that she could have been strangled by any one of eighty-five people on a cruise. As the melancholic Beck narrows the list of suspects, he is drawn increasingly to the enigma of the victim, a free-spirited traveler with a penchant for casual sex, and to the psychopathology of a murderer with a distinctive--indeed, terrifying--sense of propriety..

"The masterful first novel in the Martin Beck series of mysteries ... finds Beck hunting for the murderer of a lonely traveler. On a July afternoon, a young woman's body is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vattern. With no clues, Beck begins an investigation not only to uncover a murderer but also to discover who the victim was. Three months later, all Beck knows is that her name was Roseanna and that she could have been strangled by any one of eighty-five people on a cruise. As the melancholic Beck narrows the list of suspects, he is drawn increasingly to the enigma of the victim, a free-spirited traveler with a penchant for casual sex, and to the psychopathology of a muderer with a distinctive -- indeed, terrifying -- sense of propriety"--P. [4] of cover.… (more)